Death and the Dragon
by Tietsu
Summary: *Chapter 3 up* Duo and Wufei begin to have strange dreams, dreams tying into a a game of tag. A game being played by two immortals spanning many centuries and many lives. *yaoi*
1. Death's Proposal

No, I didn't accidentally post this in the wrong section. It is a Gundam Wing ficcie. *grin* Just a rather odd one at the moment. I currently don't really know where this is going, so I can't properly warn you about what's to come. It'll be yaoi, no doubt about that. Though I can tell you it will go one of two ways. It will either be extreme fluff, or angst. And right now I'm leaning toward the angst...Hmm, I have too many GW fics up, need to start working on my fics for other fandoms. ^^;; Anyhoo, I'll stop rambling and let you read. Please review, and of course, enjoy! ^^ 

Disclaimer: Not mine. No happy bishies for me, so I'll have to be conent playing with them in my writing. No harm meant. ^_^ 

Oh, and I don't like the title, either. ^_^ 

~*~Death and the Dragon: Prologue~*~ 

  


Justice slipped inside his lair, carefully settling his black scaled, sinuous body on the pillows. He was tired and frustrated, and very much looking forward to a bit of sleep. He and two other Virtues had been called to deal with a territory dispute between the green and silver dragons, and the whole mess had left him with quite a headache. 

Supposedly, a favored nesting site of the silvers, bordering the territory of the greens was the source of the problem. The greens had swooped in, trying to bully the mothers and hatchlings out of their homes, claiming that it had been discovered that the territory was within their boundaries. 

Naturally, the mothers were worried for the safety of their hatchlings. Considering it was only just the beginning of the hatching season, the few that had hatched were not yet ready to be moved, and moving the eggs so close to their time of hatching would be dangerous as well. 

Normally more peaceful and willing to compromise then the aggressive greens, this time the silvers would not budge. And so their dispute had been brought before the council 

It was incidents like this that made him wonder why he'd ever agreed to become a Virtue in the first place. 

Virtues were dragons chosen to serve as the representatives of the gods in the matters of mortals. Typically, one was chosen from each clan, though there had been instances where such was not the case. They were granted near immortality for as long as they chose to hold their office, and if was seen as a great honor among their kind to be chosen. Justice was beginning to think it was more of a nuisance then it was worth. 

The dispute could have just as easily been solved by one Virtue as it could have three, and, in this particular situation, one might have been better. While the Virtues were supposed to be impartial in such matters, he had to admit that sending Honor and Patience, green and silver respectively, had been an error in judgment on the part of the council. Or perhaps they had meant it to be a lesson. One could never tell with the council. 

The whole matter went straight to hell within a matter of minutes. Honor and Patience nearly came to blows in their anger, and it was all Justice could do to keep them and the other dragons present from an all out brawl. Luckily, at that point Wisdom, an old and highly respected white had wandered in, disrupting the argument and allowing Justice to end it swiftly. 

It was decided that the nesting site would remain in possession of the silvers, as it had been for many centuries past, and that in recompense, the greens would be granted an extension of territory in the North. The greens were hardly happy with the arrangement, and Justice imagined there would likely be troubles related to this in the future.   
  
Justice shook his head, banishing the thoughts lest he get another headache just thinking about it. Yawning hugely, he shifted his bulk slightly as he prepared for sleep. His eyes drifted closed. _::Sometimes I think I should relinquish my status as a Virtue.::_

Light laughter, followed by a solid whack on his snout, pulled Justice from his peaceful drowse. The dragon's eye snapped open, narrowing as he recognized his assailant. He wondered if it would be worth incurring the Gods' wrath for the pleasure of disemboweling the figure before him. Deciding against it, he settled on a malevolent glare. 

Violet eyes sparkled in amusement. "Now, now. Don't look at me like that." Another laugh. "Besides, if you gave up your status as an immortal, you'd die, seeing as you've already lived three times as long as a mortal dragon." 

Justice snorted._ ::Then I'll remain a Virtue. Damned if I'll ever let you get your paws on my soul.::_

Death smirked. "Wouldn't much matter. I'm retired. Got that nice little blonde kid to take my place." 

Justice stared at him in surprise. _::Last I heard, the bearer of souls wasn't allowed retire::_

Shrugging slightly, Death amended, "Well, not quite retired per se...more like an extended vacation of sorts. I imagine I'll be called back into service one day. However," he grinned, "that won't be for a very long time. Giving me that much more time to spend with you!" 

Justice groaned and pulled a pillow in front of his eyes. _::Go away you little beast!::_ While Justice would never admit it, he and the bearer of souls were friends after a fashion, and he rather did enjoy Death's company, infuriating as he could sometimes be. At the moment however, tired and irritable as he was, the thought of Death pestering him for the next century or two was not a pleasant one. 

Settling down comfortably beside him, Death yanked the pillow away. "I have a proposal for you." 

_::No,::_ Justice grumbled, sounding rather akin to a cranky toddler, _::I'm not going to marry you.::_

Death blinked in surprise, then began to laugh, eyes tearing up as he leaned against the dragons head, giggling helplessly. "Oh, the council would have an absolute fit!" After a few moments the laughter began to subside, and Death wiped his eyes, smiling broadly. "I knew you had a sense of humor buried underneath all that grumpiness."__

_::I am not grumpy. You are simply irritating. Now make your proposal and leave me be.::_

"Temper, temper." Death admonished. "You, my dear friend, are as bored with the squabbles of your kind as I am with the politics of the gods. Don't bother to deny it, I know you are. So, Here's what I propose. A game." 

Justice blinked, curious in spite of himself _::What manner of game?::_

"A game of...tag, I suppose you could call it." 

Something about the way his eyes glittered told Justice that Death meant no simple child's game. _::The rules?::_

Mischievous smile curling his lips, Death settled himself comfortably among the pillows once more and began to explain. 


	2. New Beginnings

Wow...I can't believe I finally got this done. Go me! I'm such a slacker, not working on my fics....

Anyhow...read, enjoy, and of course, review. ^_^

Oh yeah, I changed the dream sequence as of 6/11/02, if anyone cares, and I think I managed to fix my formatting problems. ^^

~*~Chapter 1: New Beginnings~*~

_Sunlight glinted off the large beast's scales, momentarily blinding him. Blinking against the glare, he settled back on his heels, just watching the black with a trace of smirk. The dragon paid him no mind, stretching his long body and looking for all the world like a strange, over-sized cat._

**_Ah...the sun. It had been far too long since he'd spent any time in the sun. It warmed him to the bone, his black scales absorbing the heat. He cocked his head, casting a sidelong glance at his companion, who sat and watched him with a trace of a smile. Stretching out his long body, he waited. The game was his to start when he chose._**__

_The dragon  just stood there a moment, basking in the sun, a truly magnificent sight. Then, he flexed his claws, gouging deep scratches in the soft earth and turned to regard his companion. He found himself caught in the creatures eyes, eyes like black pearls that shone with a strange and unearthly light from within. _

**_Flexing his claws, he turned to face his friend and, he thought with a trace of amusement, challenger. His friend said nothing, merely stared at him with those strange, shimmering pupiless eyes. For some reason, his eyes had always reminded him of the eyes of his own kind. After regarding him a moment, he decided that it was time._**__

::Catch me if you can.:: _The dragon said, speaking with no words, yet in a voice that was familiar-but-not._

**::Catch me if you can.:: _he said, with a trace of silent laughter._**__

_He smiled at the dragon then. How he always did love a challenge._

Duo bolted upright at the harsh beeping of his alarm. Glaring irritably at the offending thing, he flung it off the nightstand, where it hit the wall with a satisfying crunch. The beeping died off with a sick sounding squee.

Ah...blessed silence.

Curling back down into the warm cocoon of his blankets, Duo wondered about his dream. Again. For the third night in a row, he'd had that strange dream about a dragon, a _talking_ dragon, of all things. Okay, maybe that wasn't so strange, taking into consideration some dreams he'd had. Like that one where a team of football players, wearing nothing but their helmets, had chased him through the post office with a bazooka that used smelly old sneakers as ammo...He'd sworn Deathscythe had smelled like old shoes for weeks after that. Everyone else said it was just his imagination, but he wasn't so sure.

He shook his head, pushing the thought away. The strangest thing about this dream wasn't that it felt strange, it was more that it _didn't. _The dream seemed perfectly normal to him, even after he woke up. And real. It was so real; he could have sworn that if he reached out to touch that magnificent creature, it would be solid scale and sinew under his hand.

Rubbing at his eyes, Duo decided that such thoughts could be left for later. If he didn't drag his sorry rear end out of bed soon, he was going to be late for class. Not that he particularly _cared, _but Heero always jumped down his throat about it. Something about not attracting attention.

Duo slipped out of bed, shivering and wrapping his arms around himself to ward off the cold. Not that it did much good. The damned school obviously did not believe in heating. So what if the students froze to death in their beds? "Stupid cheap bastards..." he muttered irritably. If fact, the only thing that he actually liked about this place were the single bedrooms. He didn't mind having roommates, of course, but by some spectacular stroke of bad luck, or more likely, because of Heero's excellent hacking skills, he always ended up getting stuck with the Perfect Soldier, who was a grade A, world-class wet blanket.

He'd actually ended up rooming with Trowa once, on one of their assignments, and he wasn't much better. He didn't have a bad attitude, like Heero, but at least Heero would talk back every once in a while. Duo knew rocks with more personality. Unless he was with Quatre, of course. The little blonde was the only one who could get Trowa to act like human being, at least as far as he had seen.

Making his way down the hall toward the dormitory bathroom, Duo made a face. Another thing he didn't like about this place. No private bathrooms. So he always made it a point to wake up earlier then everyone else, partly because he didn't particularly relish bathing with a throng of other boys; he had enough scars that it would probably send a hundred rumors flying by lunch. The other reason was his hair. It took a considerable amount of time to wash, and even longer to dry. It was damned inconvenient, not that he'd ever even _think_ about cutting his pride and joy. But that didn't make it any easier to get ready in the morning.

Poking his head inside, Duo fervently prayed that no one else was up yet. He'd wasted a lot of time in his room this morning, and didn't know what he was going to do if there were already people in there. He bit off a curse when he heard someone humming. Stepping inside, he was surprised and relieved to see it was Wufei. There wouldn't be any awkward questions.

The Chinese boy was brushing his hair and humming an unfamiliar tune to himself. He looked up when Duo entered and stopped humming, regarding him silently for a moment, then went back to brushing his hair. He had a towel around his waist, bronze skin still damp from the shower.

"Hey, Wu!" Duo greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning Maxwell," Wufei replied, setting the brush aside and pulling his hair back into its ever-present tail. Duo not-so-secretly thought Wufei looked better with it down, though had never once managed to convince him to wear it that way.

Quickly stripping, Duo turned on one of the showers, shivering under the cold spray. He hopped from one foot to another, willing the water to hurry up and warm. After it had, he grabbed his shampoo and set to the arduous task of washing his hair.

After a few minutes, he became aware of eyes on him, and glanced over to see Wufei regarding him with a curious expression. "Uh...Wu? Did I grow another head overnight or something?"

Wufei blinked at him, then shook his head. "No. I just...I was just thinking, is all," He stood abruptly, gathering his clothes. "I'll see you later," he said, and was gone.

Staring at the space Wufei had just vacated, Duo's brow furrowed in confusion. Weird. Wasn't like Wufei to daydream like that. Shrugging to himself, Duo went back to rinsing out his hair before the dorm's other occupants decided to wake.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Clink. Splash.

_That's four._

Mr. Denbreger turned around, shooting everyone a stern look as laughter rippled through the class. They all sat bolt upright, casting each other amused glances, some stifling snickers behind their hands. He glared at them for a full minute, and then apparently satisfied he had their attention, turned back to writing a senseless scribble of numbers on the blackboard.

As soon as his back was turned, Duo propped up a paperclip, aimed carefully, and flicked it in the direction of Mr. Denbreger's desk. 

Clink. Splash.

_Five._

There was, in no particular order, a pencil eraser, a screw, the cap to a pen, a toothpick, and now a paperclip, all floating in Mr. Denbreger's coffee cup. The class laughed again, much to teacher's frustration. Glaring at them all irritably, he stopped scribbling for a moment, and picked up the coffee cup. The whole class leaned forward eagerly, waiting to see if he'd notice the stuff in the cup.

He didn't.

Taking a drink, Mr. Denbreger began to cough violently, turning several very interesting shades of red. After a moment, he coughed up the eraser, hitting an unfortunate boy in the front row in eye. 

Gasping for air, he looked into the cup, noticing Duo's little additions. "MAXWELL!" he bellowed.

Duo started, looking up, "Uh...Mr. Denbreger...you really can't prove that I did it..." he protested.

"If you even so much as _twitch_ for the rest of period, I'll have you cleaning bathrooms with your tongue!" There were several disgusted exclamations, "Understood?"

"Yessir..." Duo muttered, sinking down into his chair. When the teacher turned back to the blackboard, Duo stuck his tongue out at his back. Tuning him out, he rested his chin on his hand, turning to look out the window.

The morning fog was just beginning to clear, and across the vast bay you could just make out the vague outline of an island. That was their real reason for being here. On the island was a sprawling military installation, packed to the rafters with weapons of all types, some immensely powerful. If they managed to take out the base, it would be a huge blow to OZ. 

There was also a reason that all five pilots had been assigned to this mission, unusual as it was. There had also been hints in the database that had been hacked, pointing toward something new. Something powerful. There was some speculation that it was a new mech. That OZ had been learning from its encounters with the gundams, and had constructed a mech that was more than a match for a single gundam.

Not wanting to risk sending only one or two pilots into something that might outmatch them, they had sent all five. Heero had gotten them into the school so they could keep an eye on the comings and goings at the base and glean as much information as they could before they attacked.

Duo wished they'd hurry up and just blow the place up. He was going crazy here. 

Glancing up at the clock, he realized they only had about thirty seconds left, before the joyous escape to the wonderful thing called lunch.

He bolted up out of his seat the second the bell rang. He headed toward the cafeteria at a quick jog, getting his food just as the majority of the school flooded into the room. Pushing his way through the crush of students, he made his way outside, plunking down in his customary spot under a huge oak tree.

A few minutes later, Quatre and Trowa, who seemed to be joined at the hip, joined him. "Hello Duo!" Quatre said brightly, settling down next to him. Trowa just kind of inclined his head toward Duo, who had figured out by now that it was what passed for a hello for the brunette. Unless he was feeling talkative, which he usually wasn't.

"Hey, hey. How goes it?"

"Oh, fine. Just feeling a bit anxious," replied Quatre. As if on cue, all three of them looked toward the bay.

"Yeah," Duo sighed, "So am I."

Quatre was about to say something, when something caught his attention. Following his line of vision, Duo saw Wufei some distance away, lying on his back and staring at the sky. "Duo, do you know what's wrong with Wufei? He's been awfully withdrawn these past few days. I have him in two of my morning classes, and he didn't even seem like he was there."

"Really?" Duo looked back at Quatre in surprise, "I saw him this morning in the bathroom, and he seemed fine. Well," he amended, "he was acting a little weird, but nothing major." He hopped up, "I'll go talk to him, see if I can figure out what's bugging him."

He waved goodbye to Quatre and Trowa, and walked over to where Wufei lay. Duo merely watched him for a moment, feeling a strange attraction toward the other pilot, like a magnet. He half expected himself to fly off his feet in a moment and stick to him. He'd gotten the feeling from him a few times before, but it seemed to be happening more and more frequently lately.

"Yes Maxwell?"

Pulled from his thoughts by the quiet sound of Wufei's voice, he smiled and plunked down next to the other boy. "What's up?"

When he received no answer, his smile faded and he regarded Wufei with a serious expression. "Seriously, man. What's wrong?"

"Haven't been sleeping well."

"Oh." 

They were silent for a few minutes, when suddenly Wufei sat up, looking vaguely puzzled. He stared at Duo intently for a moment, then reached up and touched his face. He stayed that way for a moment, fingers resting lightly against Duo's cheek, and then suddenly pulled his hand away, shaking his head and muttering to himself, "That was stupid..."

Duo wasn't sure what to make of the brief touch, but he had an idea, and ran with it. "You thought we'd stick, didn't you?"

"What?"

"Like magnets or something," he explained, "You thought we'd stick."

Wufei looked surprised. "How did you know that?"

"Because I've been getting the same feeling," he smiled over at the other pilot, "Weird, isn't it?"

Wufei nodded slowly, regarding Duo with an expression the American couldn't quite put a name to. "More than strange." 

Duo was about to say something more when the bell rang. Lunch was over. He cursed silently. He'd really wanted to talk to Wufei about it, now that he knew it wasn't just him.

Standing up in one fluid movement, Wufei looked down at him and as if he'd read Duo's mind, said, "Meet me in the library after classes are over," then turned and walked away.

Duo stared after him, watching Wufei make his way across the lawn in surprise. He wasn't sure if he'd imagined it or not, but it had seemed like, for the briefest of moments, Wufei's eyes had shone like iridescent black pearls.


	3. Tiptoeing Through the Tulips (Or Roses, ...

Ooooh..._another_ part. I'm on a roll! Woot! Go me. ^_^

Anyhoo, this story is kind of going off on a totally different tangent then I first intended, and therefore leaning further and further away from the angsty story I had intended. *sigh* Oh well, stories have a mind of their own sometimes, I tell ya. 

Oh, and by the way, I revised the dream sequence in the last part as of 6/11/02, so if you read it before then, you might wanna go back and reread it. I also fixed my formatting problems, so all italics and such should show up now. ^^

Anyhoo, that's all folks! Please enjoy, and maybe drop me a review? ^_^

~*~Chapter 2: Tiptoeing through the tulips (or roses, rather) ~*~

Duo pushed open the door to the library and poked his head inside. There was no one there, as far as he could tell. Well, with the exception of the librarian, who didn't even bother to look up as he entered. 

He noticed a slightly musty smell to the room as he looked around curiously. Libraries weren't something he had ever spent much time in. It was actually kind of cozy, he decided, with the tall shelves of books looming on all sides and the quiet atmosphere. It wasn't hard to picture Wufei spending hours in this place. Poking around through the long rows of books, he finally found what he was looking for at a table in the back corner of the room.

Wufei didn't even look up from the book he was reading as Duo flopped down in the chair across from him. Taking a peek at the book, Duo noticed it was written in Chinese. Also noticing the battered state of the book, he decided that it had to be extremely old, or maybe just extremely abused.

After Wufei continued to studiously ignore him for a few minutes, Duo finally spoke up, "So...why'd you want to meet me?"

Wufei looked up at him then, and Duo caught himself staring at his eyes. He was almost surprised to see that they were just plain black. Nice eyes, sure, but perfectly normal. 

"Duo..." he said, looking thoughtful, "Do you believe dreams have meaning?"

A little surprised at the question, Duo shrugged. "Dunno. I mean, I suppose they could...never really thought about it."

Wufei rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, and Duo suddenly realized the other boy hadn't been kidding when he said he hadn't been sleeping well. He looked positively exhausted. "It is said that dreams can be a window to the soul," he said quietly, "That they reflect the inner thoughts and feelings of a person, things that the person themselves might not even be consciously aware of. It's also said that they can tell the future. For example, perhaps warn of impending danger or illness, and some even say that dreams can also reveal the past." Duo digested this silently, nodding at Wufei to continue.

"I've been having some...unusual dreams lately," said Wufei. "They all relate to each other in some way or another, but there's one in particular I seem to be having over and over." He looked at Duo then, dark eyes piercing, "And you seem to be the key part of it all."

Duo felt an odd sort of tingle at that statement. He couldn't quite figure out if it had been a good tingle, or a bad one. "Me?"

Wufei nodded, "I normally wouldn't have bothered to mention it, but, something about these dreams strikes me as...unusual. I can't quite say why, they just do. And after what happened today..." he trailed off, looking slightly frustrated for a moment, then shook his head slightly, "Have you been having any unusual dreams lately?"

Duo immediately thought of the dream about the dragon. He wasn't sure if it counted, but decided to tell Wufei about it anyhow. "Well, there has been one. It's about a dragon."

Wufei leaned forward then, eyes glinting with interest, "And?" he prompted.

"Well, there's not much to tell. It's a pretty short dream. I'm sitting outside somewhere, watching this huge black dragon," he grinned, "Man, it' so cool. I mean, I know it's just a dream and all, but it's still way cool. Anyway, he just stretches and stands there for a while, and then he looks at me and says-"

"Catch me if you can." Wufei finished quietly, staring at Duo intensely.

Starting in surprise, Duo looked up, catching Wufei's gaze. They sat like that for a long moment, and Duo had the strangest feeling he couldn't look away if he'd wanted to. He felt...something. Like a tickle starting in the back of his skull and traveling down his spine, turning into a sort of familiar warmth that settled in his stomach and refused to leave him.

The odd sensation leaving him a bit breathless, he said, "How did you know?"

Wufei wrenched his gaze away when Duo spoke, staring fixedly at a spot on the wall. "Because I've been having the same dream. But, I'm not the one watching the dragon. I _am_ the dragon. I'm the one watching you. And in my dream, it _is_ you. Different clothing, but other than that, exactly the same," he paused, as if something had occurred to him. "No, not exactly. Your eyes. They were the same color, but...you had no pupils."

Duo blew a breath through his bangs, settling back in his chair. This was strange. No, this went _beyond_ strange and into the realm of completely freaking bizarre. People didn't run around having the same dream. Except maybe twins, but they didn't count. No, all these strange sensations, coupled with the dreams they'd been having...it had to mean something. Problem was, Duo didn't have the slightest clue as to what it could possibly signify.

Wufei, on the other hand, had been one step ahead of him in the whole business. So hopefully he had some sort of insight as to what the hell this was all about, and he said as much.

To his disappointment, Wufei shook his head. "I have no idea. I've been trying to figure out what it could possibly-"

"There you are!"

Duo blinked as Quatre seemed to appear out of nowhere. The small blonde bounced anxiously, peering around to see if anyone was near. "You forgot, didn't you?" he asked.

Duo and Wufei looked at each other, and Duo winced. "Oh hell, Heero's going to have my ass on a platter."

Quatre smiled at him reassuringly, "It's okay, I told him that I forgot to remind you."

Wufei said, "But you didn't."

Winking, Quatre said, "Well, he doesn't have to know that, does he?"

Throwing an arm around Quatre's shoulder, Duo grinned. "Thanks, man. I could kiss you! I don't particularly feel like being on the receiving end of one of Heero's responsibility lectures."

They slipped out of the library and made their way to Heero's dorm carefully, avoiding teachers and other students as much as possible. To make things look less suspicious, Heero, Wufei and Trowa had been registered at the school before the start of the term, while Duo and Quatre had come in as transfer students. 

The two of them had been registered as brothers, putting Duo in the system as younger then the rest. It was the reason he didn't have any classes with the other pilots. He was a second year, Quatre and Wufei were third years, and Heero and Trowa were in fourth year classes. 

Quatre and Trowa, attached at the hip as they were, had made a great show of becoming friends after Quatre had transferred in. Of course, there was some speculation among the students that they were considerably more then just friends. Unfortunately for the gossipmongers in the school, they didn't really do much to support nor deny it. Being Quatre's younger 'brother' also gave Duo an excuse to spend time around his fellow pilot.

With the exception of Trowa, who was usually the one to relay the orders, they rarely saw Heero at all. Wufei had only limited contact with the others as well, usually with Quatre, with whom he shared a few classes, or Duo, who was being put up the third year dorm because of space limitations. 

The sneaking around was damned inconvenient at times, but what was necessary was necessary. You never could be too careful these days. Especially not in a school so close to a top secret OZ base.

Thankfully, the dorm was practically empty when they reached it. Everyone was outside enjoying the sun. Quatre knocked on Heero's door, and it cracked open an inch, one of Trowa's emerald green eyes peering out. When he saw who it was, he stepped back, holding the door open and allowing them inside.

Heero was sitting on the bed, and for a few minutes the only sound in the room was the fast clicking of a keyboard. Duo leaned against the windowsill, tapping a foot and waiting for Heero to start talking. He always did this. What was the point of calling a meeting when he was gonna make them sit there for a half a hour while he played on his laptop?

A few minutes later, Heero let out an audible sigh and shut his laptop with a click. He set it aside and looked over the room with those piercing eyes and began to relate the new information he had gathered. They listened intently, unfortunately, there wasn't much. The place had so many damned security protocols that even the people who swept the floors and cleaned the bathrooms had extensive background checks run. Spies, or even people unlucky enough to not have a full record, were picked out immediately and killed.

The computer system was so well protected that even the best of Heero's hacking skills couldn't get very far into the system, not past the multiple firewalls, passwords, fingerprint checks, retina scans, and a whole slew of other security measures. They weren't just being cautious, they were being downright paranoid. 

"I've been unable to get any farther into the system," Heero said, "However, I was able to find a map of the grounds from a landscaping company. Apparently the commander of the base has a fondness for...roses."

Duo snickered. "That's pretty sad when their security was compromised by a pansy boy who likes pretty flowers."

"There wasn't much to see," Heero continued as if he hadn't heard him, "However, I did find a possible point of entry. There's an irrigation system for the flowers that the company installed. I don't have any way of knowing if it will lead into the base or not, but it's the only lead we have, and we've got to get someone in there. The garden is scheduled for maintenance tomorrow, and I want three of you take the place of the workers. One to keep up the pretense, the other two to go in."

"I'll do it!" Duo piped up, grinning. He'd been cooped up in this damned school _way_ too long. He needed to get out and _do_ something before he went crazy. To his surprise, Wufei immediately volunteered as well. 

In the end, it was decided that he, Quatre and Wufei would go. Quatre would stay outside and keep up the act while he and Wufei went in and did the dirty work.

Finally, some action. Duo grinned and stretched as he made his way back to his dorm. Time to forget about all these crazy feelings and weird dreams. It was time to have some fun.

Shinigami was back in business.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wufei smoothed out the front of the uncomfortable uniform. He wasn't quite nervous, per se, just...edgy. Which was hardly unusual before a mission. He and Duo sat in the back of the van among the gardening equipment while Quatre drove. They were almost to the ferry that would take them out to the base, that is if they made it past security. It was unlikely they'd get in, but it was the only shot they had.

The van rumbled to a stop. Wufei tensed as the security guard walked up. Quatre smiled at the man brightly and greeted him with a sunny, "Hello!"

The guard blinked at him suspiciously. "You're not Bert," he said almost accusingly. Wufei cursed inwardly. 

Quatre, however, didn't miss a beat. "Yeah..." he said, schooling his expression into one of sad concern. "He's my uncle. He couldn't make it this time because he's in the hospital.  Poor uncle Bert had a heart attack a few days ago."

"No shit?" said the guard, buying right into it. Wufei let out a silent sigh of relief. Quatre was one hell of an actor. "Well, tell him Harry said hi, and get well soon."

The guard made as if to pull back, then paused for a moment, and stuck his head in the window, "Who've you got with you?"

Wufei pulled his hat as far down over his eyes as possible, and before the last words had left the mans lips, Duo blurted out, "Man! You wouldn't believe it! She had the biggest tits-"

He never finished as the guard pulled his head out, shaking his head and chuckling. He waved the van on, and Quatre pulled onto the ferry.

Looking over at Duo, Wufei raised an eyebrow. "What?" Duo said, grinning, "Got him to get his ugly mug outta the truck, didn't it?"

"I suppose," Wufei said, smiling despite himself. Duo certainly had a bizarre sense of humor sometimes. However, he was finding that the more time he spent around the energetic American, the more he was beginning to like him.

"I saw that!" Duo said, pointing a finger at Wufei, "You should do that more often you know."

"Do what?"

"Smile," Duo said, "It suits you. You're too serious most of the time."

Wufei said nothing, shifting uncomfortably and turning to stare at the base that seemed to be rising out of the sea. For some reason, every so often his fellow pilot would say or do something that left him feeling a little off balance. In a good way. And that bothered him. A lot.

He was silent for the rest of the ride, though once Wufei caught himself staring at Duo's profile as he chattered at Quatre. Wufei sighed in frustration. He didn't know what to make of this sudden fascination with the Deathscythe pilot. In their rather limited acquaintance before now, he'd always found him to be strangely intriguing, but never really took more then a passing interest in him. A curiosity and nothing more.

At least, that's what he tried to tell himself.

All too soon the ferry docked, and the mission was really underway. Thankfully, none of the guards on the base spared them more then a glance. Apparently the van was a common sight. Quatre parked and hopped out of the truck, helping Duo and Wufei unload the equipment. 

"The opening to the irrigation system is over there, " he jerked his head in the direction of a low, squat looking building, "On the far side. All the buildings are connected by an underground ventilation system, so if you can find your way inside, we're in business. Trowa and Heero are out there in case anything goes wrong," He beamed a smile at them. "Good luck."

Duo chirped back a perky affirmative, and Wufei merely nodded. Talking in a hushed voice as they made their way toward the other building, Duo said, "Man, I hope this pans out. We really need some decent info on this place. I'd really rather not get stomped when we decide to attack."

Wufei said nothing, searching along the wall for the opening. He almost missed it, just barely poking out from behind a rose bush. Pushing back the bush, he winced when he pricked his finger. Absently sticking his finger in his mouth, he knelt down and examined the opening. Wufei made a face. It wasn't very big. He should be able to fit, but just barely.

The pipe seemed to come out of the building at a slope, with five smaller pipes disappearing underground funneling off the trickle of water, presumably taking the water to the rest of the grounds. He looked up at Duo and was about to speak when a face appeared over the American's shoulder. "What're you guys doing?"

Duo's eyes widened and he started, surprised. Then he turned around and shot a winning smile at the guard, "There's a problem with the irrigation duct. We were just about to crawl in there and try to fix it."

"Oh," The man looked from Duo, to the duct, and back again, "Well, I don't envy you," he said, clapping Duo on the back, then turned and disappeared back the way he came.

After he was out of earshot, Duo shook his head. "Man, for being such a high security base, they sure as heck aren't very tight on the security."

Wufei stood up, absently wiping the dirt from his knees. "Landscapers are a common sight to them, remember. And I imagine if we tried to actually get inside one of the buildings, we'd have a bullet through our heads faster then we could blink."

Bobbing his head, Duo said, "Yeah, I suppose so," he looked down at the opening, "So, what's the verdict?"

Wufei held the bush aside and gestured to pipe. "After you," he said.

Duo dropped down on all fours, poked his head inside, and after a moment vanished into the duct. Wufei followed suit, staring into the inky blackness for a brief second, then clicked on his wrist light a crawled inside.


End file.
